[pure-silver] Re: Getting Organized

Can't help much, Elias. I've been away from home for almost a week and the
homework I brought with me is a briefcase full of notes about developers,
papers, scanning procedures, printing techniques, contact prints, notes
about prints to make, oh just a huge bunch of stuff. I took one piece of
paper and headed it with the word Simplify, and I've been paring things
down. I think I'm making progress but I won't know until I get back to the
darkroom, file away the things I know I'm not going to do (life is short)
and try to stick to the list and do some printing. Simplify!

-bill h

On Mon, May 25, 2009 at 9:35 PM, K W Hart <kwhart1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: "Elias Roustom" <elroustom@xxxxxxxxx>
>
>  At the risk of revealing too much about my worst habit, the lack of
>> habits, I'm going to ask if anyone else has the same problem I'm
>> having. Two years into photography, I now have sheets and sheets of
>> negatives, prints experimenting with every sort of technique or paper
>> or developer, and no order to any of it. I'm at a point now where
>> it's getting hard to move forward with any photographic project
>> without looking for something under something else...
>>   I'm going to assume I'm not the only one who has an obsession
>> with this craft and is also very busy (with paying work). I've got
>> some ideas of how to dig out, straighten up and fly right, but I'm
>> curious how some of you have dealt with putting your house in order?
>> Not only about storage and retrieval, or record keeping, but about
>> anything pertaining to managing current projects and planning future
>> projects. I could use some inspiration, and some good ideas.
>>
>> Elias
>>
>>  "Junk expands to fill all available space"
>
> I'm not sure I can give a definative answer, but you did ask just for
> inspiration and good ideas...
>
> One thing I do when I feel the walls closing in is to make a list of things
> I need to do. I find great satisfaction in crossing things off the list and
> watching it get smaller. Don't get bogged down with personnal management
> software- just use a piece of paper. Seeing things crossed out is inspiring.
>
> For my professional photos (professional meaning that people are paying me
> for them), I maintain a database of negatives, cross-referenced to the
> customer. The database also has a field for the type of photo: "Hi-key
> baby", "Outdoor senior", "Location Group", etc. Then if I need a certain
> type of photo, I can search the database for a codeword.
>
> For my pleasure photos (no one commissioned them), I file the negatives in
> photofile pages- clear plastic pages that can be directly contact printed.
> The pages and the contact prints go in a notebook chronilogically. Sometimes
> I will print them to an appropriate size and make an album- the negs for
> these go in the album. For example, I have albums of various civic events:
> July 4th celebrations, etc.
>
> As for the various types of paper and developer, you either need to set up
> a notebook with samples and procedures so that you can refer back to it when
> you need a certain effect, or, you need to standardize on one paper and one
> developer so that you will have consistency in your work. Bear in mind that
> if you choose the standardization route, that paper and developer will be
> discontinued in six months or less! For me, I prefer to standardize the
> darkroom and do my experimenting with the camera. Too many varibles and you
> don't learn anything.
>
> I feel your pain: I'm currently trying to sell my property and move halfway
> 'cross country to the old homestead. I know that all the 'stuff' I have here
> won't fit in the property I want to move to, so I'm constantly looking for
> things that can go on eBay, go to the salvage yard, or just go to the dump.
> I feel this is getting organized, but I have a pile of stuff waiting for
> someone to bid on, a pile of scrap metal stuff needing to be sorted for
> salvage, and a pile of stuff needing to go to the dump (the dump charges $20
> for up to a ton, so I want to be sure my truck is dragging when I go
> there!).
>
> The best encouragement I can offer is to keep as much of your chaos in the
> darkroom as possible- that way you can turn out the lights and not have to
> look at it!
>
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